The Gold Serpent
by Alakuriel
Summary: A new girl has arrived at Domino High. Why does the pharaoh seem to recognize her, and why is she suddenly having such strange dreams? Expect the rating to climb in later chapters. Atem/OC
1. Chapter 01: New Schools and New Friends

A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome to my story! This will be taking place after the end of season three (and completely replacing season four – no motorcycle riding idiots here, thank you very much :p). The first few chapters I'm bringing over from my old quizilla account, but new ones will follow shortly.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its components. I do own Isis and her butler.

xxx

**The Gold Serpent, Chapter 01: New Schools and New Friends**

It was another ordinary day at Domino High. Or at least, it seemed so at first, but the quiet monotony of another school day was rather quickly interrupted when an unfamiliar limousine pulled up to the entrance to the school yard.

"Looks like rich boy got a new limo," Joey commented with contempt, rolling his eyes.

The driver stepped out and made his way around the car to get his passenger's door; not only did he look unfamiliar, but his uniform was different from what they'd seen Kaiba's past drivers wear.

"...And a new driver, apparently?" Tea added with some uncertainty.

That was when an unfamiliar girl stepped out, dressed in the school uniform. The first thing anyone noticed was her hair, which instantly caught the morning sunlight to shine like woven gold. She was beautiful – there was no denying it, though those that knew her also knew that she was quite unaware of it.

"And a... new..." Joey started to say, only to finally clue in to the fact that it obviously wasn't Kaiba's limo at all. "Oh great, just what this school needed – another rich kid."

"I dunno, Joey..." Yugi pondered. She didn't look at all like your typical stuck up rich kid – in fact, she looked really nice, and just as nervous as anyone else would be if they were starting at a new school.

Just then, a nearby kid in the growing crowd spoke up. "Hey, isn't that the Morgan girl?"

"Yeah, it totally is! I saw her on the news last night!"

"Wait, you mean Morgan, as in Morgan Industries?"

"That's that big American company, right?"

"Yeah, they just signed some kinda contract with Kaiba Corp!"

"She was at that big party last night, wasn't she?"

"I didn't know she was gonna be coming here!"

"Dude, check it out! It's that rich Morgan girl from the news!"

In a matter of seconds, the whole school yard was abuzz with the news.

Andrew couldn't help but worry about his young charge as he surveyed the gathering crowd. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay, miss? Some of these students look... well..."

The object of everyone's attention – Isis Morgan - couldn't help but smile. Andrew may have been her servant and driver, but he was also one of her best (and only) friends. "Thank you, Andrew. But I'm sure. Besides, if the 'great Kaiba' can survive here, I'm sure I'll be just fine."

"For a genius, he's certainly lacking in social skills," the older man agreed.

"Ugh, tell me about it... Last night might actually have been bearable if he was capable of carrying on a conversation that didn't revolve around him. And for the greatest Duel Monsters player ever, he's lost to that Yugi kid an awful lot," Isis happily complained, rolling her sea green eyes at the absent object of her annoyance, Seto Kaiba.

"Indeed," Andrew said with a nod. "And I do believe you could give him quite a run for his money yourself, miss. But... are you really sure about this? I could at least escort you to your locker..."

"I'm sure, Andrew. It's going to be hard enough to fit in after showing up in a limo like this..." the young girl said with a sigh, worrying about the day that lay ahead of her. Sure, she hadn't actually liked her last school, but at least she hadn't been new...

"You're going to do just fine, miss," Andrew assured her. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were the most popular girl in school by the end of the day."

_If I was, it would only be because of my name and money..._ she couldn't help thinking with another sigh. She didn't say it out loud, though. "Thank you, Andrew. I'll see you after school."

For the briefest of moments as she turned away from her car and driver, before she could don her mask of bored indifference for the day ahead, Yugi could have sworn he caught a glimpse of the real Isis Morgan that lay beneath. She was frightened, desperately fighting off the urge to run, while struggling to appear strong for the only person there she knew. And even deeper, he saw a kind girl who needed a friend, and would make a good friend in return. It seemed to catch the pharaoh's attention, too.

"_Yugi? Do we know her?" the pharaoh asked suddenly; he hadn't been paying much attention to what was going on until just now._

"_No?" the young boy replied, uncertain as to where the sudden question had come from. "It looks like she's new here. I think she's from the States."_

"_Strange..." the ancient spirit commented, as much to himself as Yugi. "She seems... familiar somehow."_

It was an unbearably long day. First Isis had to deal with the stares and gossip that seemed to follow her everywhere; then she got stuck sitting next to Kaiba in class, who had apparently decided she hadn't heard enough about his numerous Duel Monsters victories. And then, of course, there were the classes themselves – the poor girl was going to have a lot of catching up to do. Her only reprieve came at lunch, when she managed to escape the throngs of students (and Kaiba) and sit down for lunch by herself, hidden behind a large tree in the school yard. By the time the final bell rang, she was more than ready to go home.

"You're Isis, right?" a voice suddenly asked while she was collecting her things from her locker, taking her by surprise; she'd waited for the hallways to clear out before venturing from the classroom herself.

"Yes?" Isis half answered, half asked, uncertain as to what they might want as she turned to face them – and found herself staring at a boy just a few inches shorter than her, with the craziest spiky hair she'd ever seen.

"Hi," the boy greeted somewhat bashfully. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier. I'm Yugi Mutou – we have class together."

"I'm pleased to meet you," was her polite (and automatic) response, but it was followed by a very genuine smile. "You're the king of card games, aren't you?"

"Ah, yeah..." he admitted, rather bashfully. Isis felt her smile growing at his obvious embarrassment – fame was clearly new to him. "Do you play Duel Monsters, too?"

Isis nodded. "Perhaps we could play sometime, though I don't imagine I stand much of a chance against you. I've never even played in a tournament before," she admitted.

"Oh, don't say that!" Yugi quickly objected, noticeably distressed by her lack of faith in herself. "I'm sure you'll do just fine – you just need to believe in yourself."

"Thank you," the young girl replied, blushing a little.

The next few minutes were passed in an awkward silence, before one of them was able to come up with anything else to say.

"So you just moved here, huh?" Yugi finally asked.

Isis couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief; she hadn't wanted him to leave, but she couldn't think of anything to say either. "Yeah. My father just signed a contract with Kaiba Corp, so he relocated us here for the time being."

"It must be hard, starting at a new school and everything," Yugi sympathised, but Isis just gave an elegant shrug of her shoulders.

"I didn't really like my old school, so hopefully this will be a change for the better," she admitted.

"I hope so," the young boy said with a cheerful nod of his head and an encouraging smile.

Isis couldn't help but smile back. She could feel herself beginning to relax, almost in spite of herself; she couldn't help it – there was just something about him... She knew she could trust him.

"So what do you think of Kaiba?" Yugi asked a moment later, as they began to make their way outside.

"He's a pompous egomaniac who loves the sound of his voice," she was quick to reply, making a face – and earning a laugh from her companion.

"You've certainly got him pegged!" Yugi chortled with amusement.

"It's not like he makes any effort to hide it," Isis pointed out. "Though I rather wish he would, if it meant he wouldn't talk about himself so much..."

"Don't worry, you learn to tune him out pretty quickly," the young king of card games assured her with a grin. "So which is your favorite card?"

"Dark Magician Girl, hands down," was her quick reply, pulling it out of her pocket.

"Hey, cool – mine's the Dark Magician! They make a good team," Yugi observed, pulling his out as well and holding it up next to her Dark Magician Girl.

Isis nodded, smiling. By now they were almost to her limo, and she could see Andrew watching her with a smile.

"Well, I should probably be getting home, but I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Yugi said with a smile.

Isis nodded again, returning the smile. "I'll see you tomorrow." Andrew opened the car door for her and she climbed inside, waving goodbye before the limo pulled away. Yugi waved back, still smiling.

"_I know I've seen her before..." the pharaoh couldn't help but comment. "But where?"_


	2. Chapter 02:  A Strange Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its components. I do own Isis and her butler.

xxx

**The Gold Serpent, Chapter 02: A Strange Dream**

It was from a very strange dream that Isis awoke the next morning. Strange but wonderful; for though she had been sad and anxious in the dream itself, it had taken place in the one place she wanted to see more than anything else in the world – Egypt. Ancient Egypt, to be more precise, and it didn't get any better than that. Isis had loved ancient Egypt since she was a small child.

She had been dressed in fine white robes and gold jewellery, traveling down the Nile by boat. Standing at the prow, she had been staring ahead without really seeing anything, but rather lost to the feel of the cool night breeze and the soothing sounds of the water... and of course, her thoughts. Isis could remember missing someone she had lost some years earlier, though she was uncertain who – and she had been about to see someone again for the first time in what felt like a very long time indeed.

_Would he still be the same boy she had known?_ she remembered wondering. _Would he recognize her? Did he even remember her?_ And there had been some sort of promise the mysterious 'he' had made to her – one that meant a great deal to her, and yet it had seemed almost too much to ask that he remember it too.

Isis thought about her dream the entire time she was getting ready for school, and all through breakfast. Who had 'he' been? The fact that she could not remember was driving her nuts; she could not shake the feeling that it was somehow important. But perhaps that was just her overactive imagination getting the better of her – it had only been a dream, after all.

"You're awfully quiet this morning," Andrew commented from the driver's seat; they were about half way to Domino High, and the young girl still had yet to say a word.

"Mm..." Isis murmured in reply. It took her a moment to realize that hardly constituted an answer, and add, "Just thinking."

"Not worrying about school again, I hope."

Isis shook her head, still lost in her thoughts, and Andrew let her remain there the rest of the way to school. Truth be told, she'd always been a quiet little thing – he hoped this chance for her to make some friends might change that and help coax her out of her shell.

"Morning, Isis," a cheerful Yugi greeted almost the moment she stepped out of the limo, earning a smile.

"Good morning," the young girl replied, doing her best to push all thoughts about her dream aside for the time being. It felt good to have someone to greet her like that – like a friend.

"C'mon, I wanna introduce you to my other friends!" he announced, grabbing her hand seemingly without a thought and proceeding to pull her further into the school yard and over to where they had gathered.

"Yugi!" several voices cried the moment they caught sight of him.

"Hi guys!" Yugi replied, waving cheerfully with his free hand. "I want you to meet Isis!"

Everyone said hello as the two of them reached the small group. Isis found herself wondering if this was what a deer felt like when it was caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"Isis, these are my friends – Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Bakura," Yugi introduced.

"I'm pleased to meet you," a very anxious Isis said.

"Aww, don't worry – we won't bite," Joey rather tactlessly assured her.

"Joey!" Tea objected, looking like she was about ready to smack him.

"What?" the clueless boy wanted to know. "We won't!"

"Well obviously! But you aren't supposed to announce that she seems nervous like that!"

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with being nervous meeting new people – a lot of people would be."

"That's not the point!"

"Don't worry," Yugi assured the newest addition to their group as the two continued to argue, "they're always like that."

Isis nodded her head, doing her best not to look too much like a deer in the headlights (and only partially succeeding).

"You'll get used to it," Bakura assured her, looking a little embarrassed by their noisy antics.

This time the morning passed by far quicker (not to mention more pleasantly) than it had the day before. Try as she might, however, Isis couldn't seem to stop thinking about her dream – it was beginning to affect her concentration. At least Kaiba wasn't there to bother her; her father had mentioned something about a meeting at Kaiba Corp that day. Of course, Kaiba's absence also meant they began their lunch with Joey complaining about his getting to miss school.

"It isn't like he's getting the day off, though," Yugi pointed out as they made their way over to a nice patch of grass to sit and eat their lunch on. "He's working."

"Well how do we know that? He could be off playing Duel Monsters and having fun!" Joey complained, clearly wishing that he could do the same.

"I don't think Kaiba knows what that is," Tristan remarked.

"Not to mention we've technically missed school for Duel Monsters before, ourselves..." Tea admitted, looking a little guilty.

"That was different!" Joey was quick to object.

"How?"

Isis found herself wondering if she was in for a repeat of that morning already. Bakura had said she would get used to it...

Unfortunately, it turned out that Kaiba had only been absent from school _that morning_.

"I'm gone for one morning, and you manage to hook up with these losers?" a very unwelcome voice interrupted.

"Hey, who are you callin' a loser!" Joey demanded, immediately moving to go after Kaiba, only to find himself held back by Tristan and Tea. Kaiba, for his part, ignored him.

"They are not losers!" Isis objected hotly as she got to her feet to face him, taking the others by surprise; thus far, she'd been pretty quiet. "They're my friends!"

"You just met them this morning," Kaiba pointed out.

"Well what would you know about making friends? The only relationships you understand are business ones!"

"You tell him, Isis!" both Joey and Tristan cheered. Her adversary glared at them.

"Hmph. Pathetic," Kaiba finally commented with disdain, returning his attention to her. "I would have expected better from a Morgan."

"Well I certainly wouldn't expect any better from you! Now if you'll excuse me, I was _trying_ to have a quiet lunch with my friends." With that, Isis sat back down and proceeded to ignore the unpleasant interruption until he left.

"Hey, way to go, Isis!" Joey congratulated her once Kaiba was gone.

"Yeah, you sure told him," Tristan agreed; the others nodded in assent.

Isis, for her part, could feel the colour creeping into her cheeks as she blushed at the attention. "Thanks," she said softly.

"So what did everyone do last night?" Yugi asked a moment later, drawing the attention away from her and earning a look of appreciation from the girl.

Joey was the first to answer, launching into a detailed account of everything he'd done, from what he'd watched on television to everything he and his sister Serenity had talked about on the phone last night. Tristan then proceeded to make fun of him for giving such a long-winded answer.

"How about you, Isis?" Bakura surprised her by asking, while Joey, Tristan, and now Tea continued their bantering.

"Oh, well, I really just worked on getting caught up with school and stuff," she answered, blushing a little again at the attention.

"And stuff?" he inquired further.

"Well, I had some music lessons, too," Isis admitted.

"You take music lessons?" Yugi asked, joining the conversation – and in doing so, earning her the attention of the rest of the group, as well. "What kind?"

"Well... last night, I had piano and flute lessons," she replied, feeling a little embarrassed.

"So, does that mean you have other music lessons, too?" Tea asked.

Isis nodded. "I also take harp and singing lessons, as well as composition."

"Wow, that's a lot!" Yugi commented in amazement.

"So you can write your own music, too?" Bakura asked.

Isis nodded again, her blush deepening. Truth be told, she'd always been quite gifted when it came to music – and she'd been composing her own since long before she began her lessons.

"Wow, you'll have to show us sometime!" Tea insisted.

Before Isis could reply, however, the bell rang, signifying the end of their lunch.

"Aw man!" Joey exclaimed. "I only got to eat one of my sandwiches!"

"Well that's what you get for talking so much," Tristan teased.

"Quiet, you two, or we're gonna be late for class!" Tea scolded, rushing the two boys as they scrambled to get their things together.

As they made their way inside, Isis felt a sudden chill run through her the same moment she got the feeling that someone was watching her. But when she glanced behind her, she only saw Bakura, who gave her a quick smile. Perhaps she'd only imagined it...


	3. Chapter 03:  An Orphan

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its components. I do own the Morgans and their staff.

xxx

**The Gold Serpent, Chapter 03: An Orphan**

"Oh my God, Yugi, I'm so sorry!" Isis exclaimed, rushing under the volleyball net and over to her friend's side. "Are you okay?"

It was gym class, and what had begun as a perfect volleyball serve had somehow ended up a disaster when it hit Yugi in the face and knocked him over – though it had really been his own fault for not paying attention.

"Yeah, I'm fine," the young king of card games assured, looking more than a little embarrassed about the whole thing.

"Man, Yug – you really weren't paying the slightest bit of attention," Joey commented as Isis helped him to his feet. "What on earth were you thinking about?"

"Nothing, really," Yugi fibbed. Truth be told, he'd been distracted by the pharaoh again – he was so sure he'd seen Isis before, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to remember where. The expression on her face as she prepared to serve the ball had seemed to strike a chord within him, and set the ancient spirit to thinking about it again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Isis worried, still not returning to her side of the net.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Yugi assured her, offering a smile as if to prove it. "And don't worry about it – it was my own fault, really. I should have been paying attention."

"Unless, of course, you were _trying_ to hit him right in the face," Tristan teased, coming to join the conversation.

The gym teacher's whistle blowing interrupted Isis' stuttering denial, and the following orders sent them back to their places. The boys got to serve this time... but now Isis wasn't paying attention, and a moment later she was sent tumbling head over heels with a very girly shriek when she took her own ball to the face.

"Man, you've _both_ been pretty out of it lately," Tristan observed after school, as they all made their way towards Isis' limo – it had been a week since she became part of the group, and they were finally going to get to see where she lived.

"Yeah, what's up?" Tea asked.

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Yugi replied, doing his best to shrug it off; he somehow didn't think the pharaoh would want him to share. Besides, Isis still didn't know about the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.

Isis nodded in agreement, adding, "Just thinking, is all."

"About what?" Bakura inquired.

"Well... it's just this weird dream I've been having," the young girl admitted, blushing a little with embarrassment.

"What kind of dream?" Tea wanted to know as they all climbed into the limo.

The first thing Yugi noticed was a pile of books on ancient Egypt, including one on hieroglyphics – he hadn't realized she was interested in Egypt's ancient history. The limo also contained music books, a flute, blank music sheets, a journal, and some French and Latin language books.

Isis could feel her blush deepening before she even began to answer. "Well, I'm in ancient Egypt, travelling down the Nile to go see someone I haven't seen in a very long time," she admitted, her embarrassment keeping her from noticing the looks on the others' faces at her mention of ancient Egypt. "And I'm worrying, because I don't know if they'll still be the same, or if they even remember me. I've had it every night for the last week, but I still don't know who the person I'm going to see is, and I just can't shake the feeling that it's important somehow."

"So are you an ancient Egyptian too, in the dream?" Tristan asked.

The young girl nodded.

"Ooooh, what are you wearing?" Tea wanted to know.

"These fine white robes, and beautiful gold jewellery," Isis answered, beginning to feel better about it already. At least they hadn't laughed or anything. In fact, they all seemed really interested.

"Do you know if you had the same colour hair?" was Tea's next question; Isis nodded her golden head again.

They continued to question her all the way to her house, having increasingly more fun with the questions until they were eventually all laughing. Everyone, that is, but Bakura, who had become strangely quiet from the moment her dream was first mentioned; unfortunately, nobody seemed to notice.

"Wow, Isis, do you really live here?" Tristan asked once they'd all climbed out of the limo.

The stately white mansion with its sprawling gardens was certainly impressive, though Isis had been more worried about it than anything else. She didn't want her new friends to be... intimidated? Alienated?

"This place is awesome!" Joey exclaimed, for once actually managing to help alleviate her fears.

"Yeah, it's gorgeous!" Tea agreed.

"Thanks," Isis replied rather awkwardly, uncertain as to just what to say.

"So what can you tell us about the mysterious person you're going to see in your dream?" Yugi asked, coming to her rescue once again – and getting the pharaoh's question out there while he was at it.

"Not much, really," the young girl admitted with disappointment. "I think he must have been a very good friend once, and I had missed him terribly... but it had been long enough since we saw each other that I didn't know what to expect anymore."

The pharaoh was disappointed too; he wanted to know more about this dream.

"Welcome home, miss," a voice greeted as they approached the suddenly open front door. The older man that now stood there was quite obviously the butler.

"Thank you, Geoffrey," was Isis' polite reply; her demeanour seemed somehow more formal than when she was around Andrew. "Would you please show my friends to my parlour while I go get changed?"

Her friends couldn't help blinking in surprise – she had her own parlour?

"Of course, miss," Geoffrey replied with a bow, before turning to her guests. "If you'll follow me."

"I'll be there in a minute, guys," Isis added. "I just want to get out of my uniform."

So the small group of teenagers followed Geoffrey the butler to a small, brightly decorated sitting room while their friend hurried upstairs. Inside, they found yet more of her music stuff – including a harp and piano – as well as more books.

"Man, Isis must really like that music stuff," Joey commented, looking around the room.

"And reading," Tristan added, taking note of all the books. The large number of books on ancient Egypt didn't escape anyone's notice, either.

"What are the odds that she would be interested in ancient Egypt?" Tea couldn't help wondering.

"Well, considering she's named after an ancient Egyptian goddess..." Yugi pointed out.

"Good point," she admitted. A moment or two of silence passed next, as everyone continued to observe the room, before Tea finally added, "Did anyone else notice that she seemed to get really formal all of a sudden when that Geoffrey guy came to the door?"

Everyone nodded.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Joey asked. "She was almost like a completely different person."

"There could be a lot of reasons, really," Yugi replied.

"Mm..." Tea murmured in agreement, nodding her head thoughtfully. "I wish we knew more about her – Isis really doesn't talk about herself much. I just hope our being here is really okay..." More nods.

"Please don't worry about that," a familiar voice interrupted as Andrew let himself into the room with a tray laden with lemonade and cookies. Setting it down on the coffee table, he went on to explain, "Miss Isis still isn't very comfortable with the idea of having servants – and Geoffrey has always been rather strict with her."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, wasn't she born into all this? How could she not be used to it?" Joey added.

But Andrew shook his head. "Miss Isis was already six years old when the Morgans adopted her – it's a detail they've largely kept to themselves, so please don't spread it around."

"Wow..." was Tea's reponse. "So she was an orphan, like Kaiba?"

"Well, I'm not sure I would compare her to Kaiba," Andrew objected, a hint of teasing in his voice, "but yes, she was an orphan."

Several moments of thoughtful (and perhaps a little shocked) silence passed, before it was interrupted by Isis herself arriving, now wearing a pale green dress. They could also now see the clearly ancient Egyptian gold serpent arm circlet with emerald eyes that she always wore.

"_I _know _I've seen that before," the pharaoh thought in frustration – why could he not remember?_

"Sorry about that," she apologized, referring (of course) to her temporary absence. "And thank you for the refreshments, Andrew." Her friend and servant gave a smile and a small bow in response. "What shall we do now?"

"Let's play Duel Monsters!" Joey exclaimed, surprising no one.

Isis smiled. "Sounds good to me!"

Much to everyone's surprise, Bakura opted not to play, but rather to simply watch. Unbeknownst to the rest of them, however, he was really busy trying to think of a plan – and he was no longer their friend Bakura.


	4. Chapter 04:  A Kiss

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its components. I do own the Morgans and their staff, and all other original content.

xxx

**The Gold Serpent, Chapter 04: A Kiss**

"So where did you get your gold serpent from, Isis?" Yugi asked one weekend as they were heading back to the game shop to meet the rest of the gang after a long day of doing nothing in particular. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow on their surroundings.

"My mother gave it to me," the pretty young girl replied, glancing down at it affectionately. Her dress was the same shade of emerald green as its eyes.

"Your..." Yugi started to ask rather hesitantly, uncertain as to just how to put it.

"My real mother," Isis answered for him. "I'd only just turned four when she died, so I don't remember very much... but I do remember that."

"I'm sorry," the young king of card games told her honestly, but Isis shook her head.

"Don't be, it's in the past now," she told him.

"So did your mother say anything when she gave it to you?" Yugi asked after a brief moment of silence.

Isis smiled. "She told me to always wear it, because it would protect me and keep me safe," she admitted. And perhaps it was a bit silly, but she had always done just that.

Yugi nodded, smiling. "Any new developments in that dream you kept having?"

"Oooooh, yes!" Isis exclaimed with excitement – she'd forgotten to tell him before. "We finally got off the boat at this big, busy city near the pharaoh's palace! I think I was travelling with my father or something, and this girl with the same name as me was there to greet us – I think we were old friends; I was really excited to see her. Then she escorted us through the city on these fancy gold litters, and I remember looking around at everything as we passed by. The city had grown a lot since I'd last seen it, but I could still recognize parts of it, and I was so happy to be there."

"Do you have any idea where you were going?" Yugi asked.

"I think we must have been going to the palace," the young girl admitted.

Yugi suddenly stopped in his tracks as an image popped into his – or the pharaoh's – mind.

"Yugi?" Isis asked in concern.

He could see a young girl who looked just like Isis, moving to kneel before him; she looked so nervous, so worried... But then she stopped suddenly – perhaps he had made some sort of movement, as if to stop her? – and the next thing he knew she had thrown herself into his arms as she fought back tears of relief. He could suddenly remember glaring at some of his officials as they moved to object to her conduct, silencing them instantly, as he held her in his arms. He had missed her so much...

"Yugi?" Isis repeated, now standing directly in front of him and watching him with concern in her sea green eyes.

Unbidden, another image came to mind now, of those same eyes – eyes the colour of the very river that had brought her back to him – looking up at him with absolute trust, as he gently cradled her face in his hands...

"Yugi!" Isis exclaimed, giving his shoulder a good poke.

But as the young boy gave his head a shake as if to clear it, he wasn't Yugi anymore.

"You okay?" Isis asked in concern.

The pharaoh nodded, unable to take his eyes off her face. Isis could feel her cheeks beginning to warm, though she wasn't entirely sure why – perhaps it was the way he was looking at her? – and she was just about to ask him if he was sure he was really okay when... he kissed her.

At first the young girl simply froze in surprise, but after a moment she surprised herself even more by kissing him back. It just felt so... right... and as she wrapped her arms around him, she was overwhelmed by a sense of familiarity, of belonging... of home.

"You're not Yugi," Isis found herself saying softly as their lips parted; she felt as though she knew him.

The pharaoh shook his head, and seemed to be about to say something, when he finally seemed to realize exactly what he'd just done. How could he have just done that? He had no right to just...

"I am so, _so_ sorry," he quickly apologized, his distress clearly visible. Yugi wasn't too happy with him, either.

Isis, much to even her own surprise, suddenly looked hurt. "Well, of course you are!" the young girl exclaimed with a rare display of sarcasm. "Why ever would you have wanted to do that?"

"No, I didn't mean-" the pharaoh tried to explain, but she had already taken off running.

_What is wrong with you?_ Isis found herself asking herself as she ran, trying to put as much distance between herself and the guy that wasn't Yugi as possible. _If you were going to get mad at him for anything, it should have been for randomly kissing you like that, not apologizing for it!_

Why had the apology hurt so much, anyway? And why had that kiss felt so... right? As if they had done so a thousand times before? Especially considering that had just been her first kiss...

_You should stop running,_ the young girl told herself as she turned down yet another alleyway. _It isn't helping anything, and you're just going to get yourself lost._ A moment later, she took her own advice and began to slow down.

Unfortunately, getting lost was the least of her worries at that particular moment.

"I should go back..." she admitted aloud, once she'd had a chance to catch her breath. Running away wasn't going to solve anything.

"Oh, I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere," an unfamiliar – and extremely creepy – voice suddenly interjected, "except with us."

Whirling around in surprise, Isis found the entrance to the alleyway blocked by three creepy-looking guys in cloaks.

"Wh- Who are you?" the young girl asked, taking a step back - and away from them. "What do you want?"

"You."

Isis' scream tore through the darkening evening.

No more than a block or so away, Joey and Tristan halted in their tracks.

"Was that...?" Tristan started to ask, looking over to Joey with concern in his eyes.

"Isis!" Joey exclaimed, not even giving him time to finish the question, and immediately rushing off in the direction the scream had come from. Tristan wasn't far behind him.

Upon reaching the alleyway, the two boys found a very unexpected scene indeed. Isis appeared to be unconscious (hopefully she'd only fainted), and was being held by a tall, creepy-looking guy in a cloak, who also had two buddies with him. They instantly reminded them of Marik's rare hunters, though the cloaks weren't the same.

"Let her go!" Tristan demanded, as he and Joey approached them.

"I'm afraid that's quite out of the question," the guy holding her informed them.

"Then I guess we'll just have to make you," Joey replied, throwing the first punch. Tristan jumped into the fray right after him.


	5. Chapter 05:  Disasters and Dreams

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its components. I do own the Morgans and their staff, and all other original content.

xxx

**The Gold Serpent, Chapter 05: Disasters and Dreams**

Back at the game shop, Yugi was totally panicking. Not only had the pharaoh gone and kissed Isis and then upset her, making her run off (a disaster in its own right), but upon getting home he'd discovered that someone had broken into his room and stolen both the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Rod!

"Yugi? What's wrong?" Tea asked, taking him by surprise – he hadn't even heard her come in.

"The Millennium Ring and Millennium Rod are gone!" the young boy exclaimed, his panic evident.

"No!" Tea gasped. "How? What happened?"

"I don't know! I just got home, and someone had obviously broken into my room, so I checked, and they were gone!"

"This is bad..." Tea couldn't help observing. The Millennium Rod was especially dangerous – she hadn't forgotten how Marik had used it to turn her and Joey against Yugi.

"Yugi!" Tristan's voice called from outside, interrupting their panic with a little of his own. Both Yugi and Tea were outside to meet him in a matter of seconds, and what they saw only served to make matters worse.

Tristan was carrying an unconscious Isis in his arms, Joey was limping noticeably, and both boys had very obviously been in a fight.

"What happened?" Yugi asked, automatically rushing over to Isis to see if she was alright, while Tea went to help Joey.

"Well, I'm not sure how it started," Tristan explained, "but while Joey and I were heading over here, we heard Isis scream."

"Some creepy-lookin' guys in cloaks had her by the time we got there, and she was already unconscious," Joey added.

"It wasn't those rare hunters again, was it?" Tea asked. Both Tristan and Joey shook their heads.

"They looked kinda like 'em, but the cloaks were different, and they didn't have duel discs or anything," Joey replied.

"_Oh, I hope this doesn't have anything to do with the missing Millennium Items..." Yugi worried._

"_Well, whether it does or not, it might be best to get everyone inside and taken care of first, don't you think?" the pharaoh pointed out. In all honestly, he was worried about Isis – he still wasn't very clear on how he knew her, but he did know that she was someone important to him._

"_Good point," Yugi admitted, putting the whole kissing Isis issue behind them for now. They had other things to worry about._

"Tristan, why don't you go put Isis up in my room for now? Then we can try and figure out what's going on," the young king of card games suggested. Joey obviously needed to sit down for a bit, too.

Nodding, Tristan quickly headed inside to do as Yugi had suggested, and the others followed him.

"Whoa, Yug – your room's a total disaster!" Joey exclaimed upon reaching it; Tristan was already setting Isis down on Yugi's bed.

"Well, of course it is," Tea commented, forgetting that he and Tristan still didn't know about the theft.

"What d'you mean? Yugi's gotta have the least messy room I've ever seen," Joey objected.

Yugi interrupted before they could get into one of their arguments. "Someone stole the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Rod while I was out today."

"Oh man..." Tristan groaned.

"This is a disaster!" Joey exclaimed. "What the hell is goin' on?"

"I don't know," Yugi had to admit, though it was more the pharaoh talking now. "But we have to stay calm while we try to figure it out. Panicking won't get us anywhere."

"You know, the Rod would actually explain a lot, if someone was using it on those creeps earlier," Tristan added thoughtfully. "There was definitely something about them that seemed similar to Marik's rare hunters."

"It couldn't be Marik this time, though... could it?" Tea said uncertainly.

"We could always go down to the museum tomorrow to see if he and Ishizu are still there," Yugi pointed out. "Even if he isn't involved, they might have some idea what's going on, or at least what these people might be after."

The others nodded in agreement – it really sounded like their best bet at this point.

A soft moan coming from the bed quickly drew everyone's attention back to Isis; she seemed to be having some sort of dream.

"Isis!" Tea called as the entire group rushed over to the side of the bed.

"Come on, Isis, wake up!" Joey pleaded.

_She was in the pharaoh's city again, being escorted to the palace in a truly royal fashion. To one side of her was her father(?), being carried on a gold litter similar to her own, and on the other was the woman with whom she shared a name. She could hardly stop smiling, she was so happy to finally be back – and yet, she couldn't help but worry about what awaited her at the palace. Would he remember her? Was he still the same?_

_To be sure, he wouldn't be exactly the same. He was much older now than he had been when she last saw him – and she supposed she had changed somewhat over the years, herself. Why, even the city itself had grown and changed – but deep down, it was still the same. She could still recognize it. Would she still be able to recognize him as the boy she had known all those years ago?_

"_You're worried about seeing him again," the other Isis suddenly observed, softly enough that only she would hear._

_Turning to face her in surprise, Isis opened her mouth to deny it... only to close it again, and nod her head in admission as a faint blush coloured her cheeks at being caught. Isis always had been able to tell what she was thinking. Even when they were children, she'd never been able to fool her name-sister – it would be foolish to try now._

"_You shouldn't be," the other Isis told her gently, smiling a little._

_Isis' sea green eyes implored her to elaborate; to answer her unvoiced questions and allay her fears... but the slightly older woman merely shook her head._

"_You shall see soon enough," she said – as usual, refusing to provide all the answers._

_Without even realizing it, Isis responded to this in the same way she always had – by pouting – and immediately earned her friend's laughter._

"_Oh Isis, how can you expect him to have changed so completely, when you are still so very much the same?" the other Isis asked her affectionately._

"Isis!" _a voice interrupted; she did her best to ignore it as she smiled at her old friend._

"Isis, wake up!" _another voice pleaded. She wished they would be quiet – she wanted to see the rest of the city, and get to the palace. She wanted to see _him _again._

"Please, Isis!" _This voice seemed more familiar, for some reason. Where were these voices coming from, anyway? And what did they want?_

"Isis!" _a voice demanded; this time she was suddenly aware of someone shaking her._

"Joey, don't shake her like that!" Tea objected, rounding on the boy.

"What?" Isis murmured, slowly peeking one eye open.

"Isis! You're okay!" Joey exclaimed, successfully ignoring Tea.

"Are you okay?" Yugi rather more sensibly asked, as that still had yet to be established. Isis nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," the young girl admitted. "These guys in cloaks just randomly came after me... I guess I must have fainted or something? How did I get here?"

"Tristan and I saved you!" Joey declared proudly. "We heard you scream, so we went to help. After we got you away from those creeps, we brought you back here."

"You mean _I_ brought her back here. You could barely walk," Tristan corrected, successfully triggering yet another of their famous arguments. It didn't take long for Tea to join in, either.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yugi asked softly, once the others were distracted. Isis nodded again, noting with relief that he was definitely Yugi again. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I should be able to explain at least most of it later, if you don't mind staying for a bit after the others leave."

"Sure," Isis agreed. "Just so long as it's you doing the explaining." She didn't really want to see the guy that wasn't Yugi right now.

"Deal," Yugi said with a smile.


	6. Chapter 06:  The Millennium Items and

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its components. I do own the Morgans and their staff, and all other original content. Oh, and I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series, either.

xxx

**The Gold Serpent, Chapter 06: The Millennium Items and the Spirit of the Puzzle**

Yugi sighed; the time had finally come to tell Isis about the Millennium Items and the pharaoh, and he had no idea how to go about it. It wasn't exactly the sort of thing you could expect a person to believe, after all – and the others had actually been there with him as he learned it all himself. How was he supposed to explain it to her without sounding like he was completely insane?

"Yugi?" Isis prompted after several moments of silence had passed. "What's going on?"

"I've never really had to explain this to anyone before," the young king of card games admitted, looking more than a little nervous. "The others were all there as things began to happen, and I began to learn about it myself – and I know this is going to be really hard to believe."

"Well... I can't promise I'll believe everything," Isis told him honestly, after a moment of thought. "But I can promise to at least listen to all you have to say."

Yugi gave her a grateful smile, nodding in consent.

"Well, I suppose the best place to start is my Millennium Puzzle," he began, indicating the gold pyramid that he wore around his neck. "It's from Egypt, where my grandfather found it in the tomb of a nameless pharaoh. It didn't look like this when he gave it to me, though – then it was just a bunch of puzzle pieces, that he'd sort of dared me to try to put together." Yugi paused for a moment now, knowing that this next part was going to be very hard to believe. "When I did finally manage to solve it though, I awakened the spirit of the pharaoh who lives inside it. We sort of... share a body now, I guess, and he was the one who kissed you earlier. I'm not sure if even he knows why, but I think you remind him of someone from his past. You see, he can't remember anything about his life back in ancient Egypt, or even his name – I'm actually trying to help him get his memories back. So sometimes he might do or say something without really understanding it himself."

Isis nodded, encouraging him to go on.

"One thing we do know is that back in ancient times, he used seven Millennium Items, including my Puzzle, to lock away this powerful magic that threatened to destroy the world. A lot of bad guys keep trying to get their hands on the Items now, in the hope of being able to use that magic for themselves. Three more of the Millennium Items – the Millennium Ring, Millennium Rod, and Millennium Necklace – were recently given to me by some friends from Egypt whom we're hopefully all going to go see at the museum tomorrow. They're tomb keepers, charged with guarding the pharaoh's tomb and various secrets, so they actually know a lot more about the pharaoh than even he does, I think. But while we were out today, someone broke into my room and stole the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Rod – and the Millennium Rod is especially dangerous, because it can be used to control people's minds. Tristan and Joey both think those guys that attacked you earlier might have been under its control. I don't know why anyone would be targeting you in all this, but we're going to have to be really careful in case they try again," Yugi finished. The Shadow Games and the origin of Duel Monsters could wait – this was going to be more than enough for her to process as it was.

Isis was quiet for a long time, and Yugi let her think. On the one hand, the whole thing was preposterous – there was no such thing as magic. But on the other... deep down, she was inclined to believe him. She instinctively trusted Yugi, and in a strange way his story seemed to make sense. And hadn't she known that wasn't Yugi when he kissed her earlier? It hadn't been Yugi, and yet he had been Yugi just moments before. Logically, it didn't make any sense. And yet... she understood it.

Finally, the young girl slowly nodded her head. "I'm not sure why, but... I believe you."

Yugi let out a sigh of relief.

The next morning, the entire gang met at the game shop to head out to the museum together. Well, everyone but Bakura, anyway – they hadn't seen much of him lately, and in all the excitement the night before, none of them had even noticed he was missing.

"Hey, Isis!" Joey greeted as she stepped inside. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," the pretty young girl replied with a smile. "But I wouldn't even be here, if not for you and Tristan. Thank you."

"Aww, it was nothin'," Joey replied, actually blushing a little.

"How's your leg?" Isis asked him.

"A hundred percent!" he only somewhat-sensically replied. "If any more of those creeps show up again, I'll give them a beating they'll never forget!"

"Not that they're going to show up again," Tea added quickly as she appeared behind him, shooting him a glare.

"Is everybody ready to go?" Yugi asked as he joined the group, and successfully averted another one of their arguments.

Nodding, everyone was quick to answer in the affirmative, so off to the museum they went.

"Hey, guys!" a familiar voice greeted the group as they walked into the ancient Egypt exhibit.

"Marik!" everyone but Isis quickly greeted, both surprised and glad to have run into him so quickly. Odion was there, too.

"We were hoping you were still here!" Yugi added cheerfully.

"What's up?" Marik wanted to know.

"Well, we're not really sure," the young king of card games admitted. "We were kinda hoping you and Ishizu might be able to help us figure it out. Oh! And this is our new friend, Isis," he introduced. "Isis, this is our friend Marik, and Odion – they and Ishizu are the friends from Egypt I told you about last night."

"Nice to meet you, Isis," Marik greeted with a smile. His sister would certainly find her name interesting...

"And you, as well," the young girl politely, but absently, replied; her attention had been captured by the exhibit itself the moment they walked in, and she desperately wanted to take a closer look.

"We'll certainly be glad to help, if we can," Marik went on to tell Yugi. "I'm not entirely sure where Ishizu is right now, though, so we'll have to find her."

Yugi nodded his assent, and Joey quickly added an enthusiastic, "Let's go!" Which immediately earned him some teasing from Tristan, and a scolding from Tea for being so loud – and eventually lead into one of their famous arguments. In the midst of all the commotion, nobody noticed when Isis trailed away from the rest of the group to take a look at some artefacts that had caught her eye. So while the others went with Marik and Odion to find Ishizu, Isis wandered deeper and deeper into the ancient Egypt exhibit – and never before had any museum exhibit been so thoroughly examined. Isis looked over every artefact, read every last piece of information – she even used this as an opportunity to test her self-taught knowledge of hieroglyphics and translate the writings on some of the artefacts.

By the time she found her way to the basement door, the others were nearly finished talking to their tomb keeper friends (who, unfortunately, could shed little light on the current situation).

"I wonder what could be in here..." Isis asked herself as she stood before the basement door; for she knew that something was there. She could feel it calling out to her.

Half expecting someone to come and stop her, the young girl reached out to grasp the doorknob. When no one did, she gently turned the handle and, finding the door unlocked, let herself inside. The staircase that first greeted her was unremarkable, but what lay in the room at the bottom of the staircase was to take her completely by surprise. It was... a Giant Rock!

Isis stared in awe at the great tablet that lay before her, missing none of the secrets it contained. There was no mistaking the Duel Monsters it depicted – nor the fact that in ancient times, they had been far more than just cards. Could Duel Monsters really have originated in ancient Egypt? Pegasus had hinted once at having got the idea from somewhere else, when she visited with her family, but... it just seemed so unlikely! What were the chances that two of her passions would turn out to be intertwined in such a way?

"I see you've found the Pharaoh's Tablets," a woman's voice commented, interrupting Isis' thoughts.

A small gasp escaping her lips, the young girl whirled around in surprise, only to find herself facing... the woman from her dreams? "Isis?" The question popped out of her mouth before she could even stop to think about it.

But the woman shook her head. "My name is Ishizu Ishtar," she introduced herself. "You met my brother earlier. The Pharaoh and the others are looking for you." Isis felt almost uneasy under Ishizu's gaze, the slightly older woman's blue eyes seeming to reflect a knowledge she found herself wishing she had. "But before you go, you should take a look at the other tablet."

Other tablet? Turning back around, Isis was surprised to discover that she had been so caught up in her examination of the first tablet, she'd allowed the second one to go completely unnoticed. Curiously moving to stand before it, it was inevitable that the first thing to catch her eye would be the pharaoh – who looked just like Yugi, right down to the Millennium Puzzle he wore around his neck. It certainly supported what Yugi had told her the night before. And across from the pharaoh... was...

"Is that Kaiba?" Isis asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Yes," Ishizu answered, coming to stand beside her. "He was one of the pharaoh's greatest opponents."

Wow... so Kaiba was even a jerk in ancient times, then. Not particularly fond of looking at him, Isis allowed her gaze to travel upwards, where she found the three Egyptian Gods – Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra. It didn't take long, however, for her gaze to find its way back to the pharaoh.

"They are very real, by the way," Ishizu suddenly said, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

"What are?" Isis asked, looking at her with more than a little confusion. But Ishizu merely smiled in a way that strongly resembled the other Isis of her dreams.

"You'll see," the slightly older woman told her mysteriously.

Isis would have loved to press her for an answer, but it was at that precise moment that they were interrupted by the arrival of her friends, and amidst all the commotion Ishizu somehow managed to disappear.

xxx

A/N: The next chapter is still a work-in-progress, but I should be able to have it up within a week or so, if not sooner. I can tell you it has the next part of Isis' dream in it, though. ;)


	7. Chapter 07: Of Dreams and Pharaohs

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its components. I do own the Morgans and their staff, and all other original content.

xxx

**The Gold Serpent, Chapter 07: Of Dreams and Pharaohs**

_It felt strange to walk the passages in which she and the young prince had once played as children again; Isis could still recall the sound of their laughter echoing through the palace halls as they evaded their tutors, or escaped after playing a prank on their friends. They had been so close then – virtually inseparable. But so many years had since passed... Even in the wake of her name-sister's comforting words, Isis could not seem to stop worrying about seeing him again. He was Pharaoh now – so many things could have changed. Would she know him at all? Would he remember her?_

_Could she bear it if he had forgotten?_

_After weeks of impatience to see him again, the other Isis was suddenly announcing their arrival to the young pharaoh all too soon. Approaching the throne alongside her father, Isis could feel an overwhelming panic welling up inside her, threatening to choke her; afraid of what she might see upon meeting his eyes, she instead found herself staring rather intently at the floor. But as she moved to kneel before the throne – before _him_ – a sudden movement caught her eye, causing her to look up… and his deep purple eyes immediately captured hers in his gaze._

Gasping in surprise, Isis sat bolt-upright in bed. He was Yugi! Well, notYugi. The pharaoh of the Millennium Puzzle was the pharaoh she'd been dreaming about going to see for weeks now?

xxx

_It was just a dream_, Isis reminded herself (again), as she let herself into Mr. Mutou's game shop, the jingling bell announcing her arrival. _You're letting your imagination get the better of you_.

"Good morning, Mr. Mutou," she greeted the elderly man behind the counter.

"Ah, good morning, Isis," he was quick to reply. "Yugi mentioned you were walking to school together today."

Isis nodded in confirmation. "Is he almost ready?"

"Mm, I think he was just finishing brushing his teeth – he should be down in a moment," Yugi's grandpa assured her. "Perhaps you'd like to take a look at some of the new Duel Monster cards we just got in while you wait?"

"I would love to," she assured him with a smile, joining him at the counter as he pulled out the new-arrivals.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Yugi was just about finished brushing his teeth – but he was nowhere near finished with his conversation with the pharaoh.

"_Why won't you let me talk to her?" the ancient spirit was complaining._

"_Because the last time I let you, you kissed her!" Yugi was quick to respond. "And I'm pretty sure she's still mad at you for it, too." So was he, for that matter._

"_I said I was sorry…" the pharaoh said, rather sulkily._

"_Well, you still can't talk to her, so stop asking."_

"_Well, would you at least give her the Millennium Necklace, then?" the pharaoh pressed._

_Yugi sighed; they'd been back and forth about this since their trip to the museum yesterday. "Are you sure that's what Ishizu meant? I mean, she didn't actually mention Isis – she hadn't even met her yet."_

"_She said it would protect "her" from the power of the Millennium Rod – who else could she have been talking about?"_

"_Tea?" Yugi rather halfheartedly suggested; he didn't believe that any more than the pharaoh did, and they both knew it. "I don't know, Yami, but I don't want to put her in danger like that if it isn't necessary."_

"_What do you mean?" the pharaoh wanted to know._

"_Well, if she isn't in danger of being controlled by the Rod, wouldn't giving her the Necklace just make her a target for anyone after the Millennium Items?" the young king of card games pointed out._

"_That's true…" the spirit of the puzzle admitted. "But Yugi… I know you remember what it was like, seeing Joey and Tea turned against you, and having to fight for Joey's mind. I may not be able to remember how Isis is connected to my past, but I don't think I could bear watching that happen to her - and we already know _someone_ is after her. As long as it is at all within my power to do so, I… I have to protect her."_

_Yugi couldn't think of anything to say for a moment – he didn't think he'd ever heard the pharaoh sound quite so… unwaveringly (almost desperately) determined before, almost as though his very soul depended upon it. Finally, he nodded. "Okay. I'll give it to her on the way to school."_

"_Thank you."_

"Hi Isis," Yugi greeted, as he finally joined her and his grandpa in the game shop.

"Morning, Yugi," Isis responded brightly. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yup – I'm all set," he confirmed. And, after bidding Yugi's grandpa farewell, the two teenagers left the game shop and began to make their way to school.

"Yugi, can I ask you something?" Isis rather tentatively asked, once they'd put the game shop behind them.

"Of course!" the young boy was quick to assure her.

"Well, Morgan Industries and Kaiba Corp. are going to be hosting a Duel Monsters tournament to celebrate their new alliance, and they were kinda hoping you might agree to participate as the opponent the finalist will have to face…" the young girl hesitantly began to explain, clearly not sure if she really wanted to be bringing it up at all; she was afraid that he might feel pressured to say yes simply because they were friends, and she really didn't want that.

"Wow, Isis! That's… I'm really honored!" Yugi exclaimed in very genuine surprise. "Do they really want me?"

Isis nodded, glad he was excited – but she still needed to make sure he understood the full implications of what she was asking. "It would mean you can't participate in the rest of the tournament, though – and your title would be up for grabs – so please don't feel like you have to. I'll understand if you'd rather just enter as a regular contestant instead," she assured him.

"Are you going to be dueling, Isis?" Yugi asked.

The pretty young girl nodded again, a delicate blush blossoming across her cheeks. "I- I wasn't really sure if I should – I've never been in a tournament before – but Kaiba insisted he had to be allowed to compete, so my parents decided they should have a duelist representing their own company, and I'm the only one who actually plays…"

"Then I would love to face your finalist – it'll give me a chance to cheer you and Joey on during the rest of the tournament," Yugi told her, with an encouraging smile.

"Are you sure?" Isis asked.

"Positive."

"Thanks, Yugi!" she exclaimed happily, thrilled to have finally got the question out of the way; that hadn't been nearly as bad as she'd feared.

"Aw, you're welcome," the young boy who was very quickly becoming her best friend rather bashfully replied.

"_Yugi, the Necklace," the pharaoh prompted._

"Actually, Isis, I had something I wanted to ask you, too," Yugi said, bringing them to a brief stop; they were almost at the entrance to the school yard now, and he didn't want to risk anyone else seeing.

"What's up?" Isis prompted.

"Do you remember what I told you, about the Millennium Rod being able to control people's minds?" he asked. Isis nodded; that was a pretty difficult thing to forget. "Well, when we were at the museum yesterday, Ishizu made a point of telling me and the pharaoh that the Millennium Necklace can protect its wearer from the power of the Rod, and… well, it would make us both feel a lot better if you would wear it, just in case."

"Oh, but… what about you, Yugi? Shouldn't you wear it?" Isis asked, not at all liking the idea of her friend's mind being controlled instead of her own. But Yugi shook his head.

"No, I'm pretty sure my Puzzle keeps me safe," he assured her. "Please, Isis? We would feel a lot better if we just knew you were safe from the Millennium Rod."

The young girl thought about it for a moment, but she really didn't have it in her to say no after he asked like that – she really didn't want him and the pharaoh to be worrying about her all the time - so… "Okay," she finally agreed. "If you're sure you don't need it."

"Thank you," Yugi told her, and it was clear just how much he meant it. "Here," he said, pulling it out of his pocket, "turn around, and I'll help you put it on."

Obediently turning around, Isis was quick to bend down a bit to make it easier for him to reach as she carefully held her hair out of the way; a moment later, she felt the heavy weight of the gold as it came to rest about her neck.

"Thank you," Isis told him, turning back around to meet his eyes – and this time she was speaking to both of them. She knew… they were just trying to keep her safe.

_But should I tell them about the dream..?_


End file.
